Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 104: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has undertaken any research on the number of postgraduates who have been awarded higher research degrees in the areas if science and information technology at Irish universities and who are now leaving the country to seek further employment and research opportunities; if he is concerned at a high-level brain drain in this area; if he has any proposals to address this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21760/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The HEA publishes a First Destination Report annually which provides information on the position of Irish graduates nine months after graduation. The information is gathered through a survey of all graduates from publicly funded higher education institutions.

I have set out below, for the information of the Deputy, data provided by the HEA in relation to students graduating in 2009 with Masters and PhD qualifications, the latest year for which data is available. Information is provided for the broad subject areas of science, engineering and food science and technology. Unfortunately, the nature of the survey does not allow for the disaggregation of data in relation to graduates in information technology specifically. Overall, this data shows that 17.2% of graduates in 2009 went abroad to work or study.

The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs advises the Government on skills needs and labour market issues that impact on enterprise and employment growth, and this advice informs broad education and training policy. While the downturn has impacted very significantly on levels of employment across the economy, significant employment opportunities are emerging in some sectors. In particular, the ICT sector in Ireland is actually experiencing difficulties in filling some vacancies. A key priority for the Government is to work with the sector to ensure that we increase the domestic supply of graduates with the appropriate levels of skills to support the expansion and growth of the ICT sector into the future.

Specifically, proposals are being developed for a joint industry/Government Action Plan which aims to increase the domestic supply of high level ICT graduates in the short term through expansion of conversion and re skilling opportunities while also boosting the longer term supply of graduates in terms of numbers and quality.

Please note that these tables are informed by collating the findings of Engineering, Science and Food Science & Technology graduates. For a more detailed breakdown please see next tab below.

The First Destination Report has been compiled annually by the Higher education Authority (HEA) since 1982. The facts and figures presented in the FDR report have been instrumental in communicating the importance of higher education and helping to illustrate how education benefits the individual, society, research activity and the country in general.

The tables set out are based on the First Destination of Award Recipients in Higher Education Survey (FDR), an annual survey conducted by the Higher Education Training Awards Council (HETAC) and the Careers Officers in all institutions under the aegis of the HEA. The FDR surveys every graduate of publicly funded third level institutions (and HETAC approved courses in private institutions) in order to portray their circumstances nine months after graduation. The HEA analyses the datasets produced by these agencies.

They include an analysis of those in employment and those seeking employment in addition to levels of participation in further study and training. Graduates of all higher education qualifications are surveyed, from Higher/University Certificates to PhDs. It is important to reiterate that the data contained in this report is based on information provided by graduates nine months after they graduate.

The survey results will continue to be of particular relevance to those in higher education including educators, Government Departments, policy makers and research organisations. The findings will also be of interest to students, teachers and career guidance counsellors at second level to inform their future careers.